Is chocolate really good for you?

I've been reading a lot of articles recently about cacao and it seems a lot of people think that cacao isn't so good after all.

[url=http://www.holistichelp.net/blog/is-raw-cacao-really-healthy/]Is Raw Cacao Really Healthy?[/url]

[url=http://www.highonhealth.org/is-cacao-good-or-bad/]Is Cacao Good Or Bad? - High on Health— High on Health[/url]

One bit which worries me is "We could sum this up simply by saying that raw cacao over stimulates the heart, mind, nervous system and body. Over stimulation is never a good thing. It leads to burn out, malfunction and degradation."

Does anyone have any opinions on this?

My opinion is that it is healthy in a sound and balanced diet, but no need in overdoing it, more is not always better. Find a balance with the rest of the food you are eating I say...

i stopped eating it because I didnt feel it was healthy for ME...but I have a seizure disorder and dont need my brain over-stimulated anyway. :)

A little over two years ago, I was eating anywhere from half a bar to an entire bar of 85% dark chocolate a day, and I felt AWFUL. No energy, poor sleep, poor skin, very irritable, etc.

I've long since got my consumption of cacao in check, so I've been able to more accurately measure the effects of reasonable quantities, and in many cases, it's still no good. A very small amount of very dark chocolate (85%+, <10g) every other day works best for me. "Lighter" chocolate (less than 70%) doesn't seem to bother me much, but I don't really like overly sweet chocolate.

There are significant differences between raw cacao and non-raw cacao -- I would opt for non-raw cacao in every case. Raw cacao is simply not a good food choice for me. I recently visited a friend's health store in NY and bought one of the high end raw cacao bars. I didn't eat much of it, but within an hour, I felt dizzy, nauseous, and fatigued.

I am beginning to realize that I have a poor reaction to chocolate.

I'm semi-addicted to the stuff. But when I stop eating it, I stop bloating in my face, and eventually I lose all my water weight.

Just look at the all mighty Orac scale! It rocks the sox off of any vegetable and pounds blueberries.

So from now on my list in order of refrigerator space importance goes: Eggs, Meat, Raw Milk, Chocolate.....everything else.

You wanna improve your chances at a Nobel Prize? Eat your chocolate!

[url=http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMon1211064]MMS: Error[/url]

Ok, I'm kinda joking. In all seriousness I would treat it like any "scary" vegetable (spinache, kale, broccoli). Eat a bit of it.

I'm not there yet, but my guess is that dark chocolate for me will become a delicacy to be had and be akin to "getting drunk" on maybe 2 or 3 squares one weekend. But not an everyday, whole bar kind of thing.

Holy Moly, is there anything we can eat that does not have a study saying it is harmful? Crap, I have to eat something good and dark chocolate will be it. 1/2 serving of Lindt 90 daily plus 20 grams of nibs in my shredded coconut. I did switch to decaf coffee but I have to draw the line somewhere. Seriously, next year there will be a bunch of new studies extolling the virtues of dark chocolate.

[QUOTE=Neckhammer;1061812]Just look at the all mighty Orac scale! It rocks the sox off of any vegetable and pounds blueberries.

So from now on my list in order of refrigerator space importance goes: Eggs, Meat, Raw Milk, Chocolate.....everything else.

You wanna improve your chances at a Nobel Prize? Eat your chocolate!

[url=http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMon1211064]MMS: Error[/url]

Ok, I'm kinda joking. In all seriousness I would treat it like any "scary" vegetable (spinache, kale, broccoli). Eat a bit of it.[/QUOTE]

Can you access that article? It says I need to purchase it.

If eating chocolate is wrong, then I don't want to be right.